VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 11,
2022 /CNW/ - Filo Mining Corp. (TSX: FIL)
(Nasdaq First North Growth Market: FIL) (OTCQX: FLMMF) ("Filo
Mining" or the "Company") announces its results for the three and
six months ended June 30, 2022. PDF
version.
HIGHLIGHTS AND OUTLOOK
Filo del Sol drill program demonstrates continuity and
extension of Aurora Zone and Breccia 41; Bonita Zone discovery to
the north illustrates compelling exploration potential
Jamie Beck, President & CEO,
commented, "Exploration results from Filo del Sol continue to
stand out on a global scale and showcase the project as one of the
most significant copper-gold-silver discoveries of its generation.
Holes 55C, 57 and 58 have delivered exceptional results,
demonstrating continuity and extension of mineralization within the
bonanza-grade Breccia 41 structure and the surrounding high-grade
Aurora Zone. In addition, hole 60 stepped out approximately 2km
northeast of Breccia 41 and discovered a new porphyry centre, which
supports our geological interpretation that Filo del Sol hosts
multiple overlapping porphyry centres along a multikilometer
trend.
While we are currently drilling through the South American
winter for the first time in the project's history, we are also
looking forward to the arrival of spring, which will allow the
Company to ramp up the rig count to expedite drilling and
definition of the deposit."
Drilling continued to be the operational focus of the Company
during the three months ended June 30,
2022 ("Q2 2022"), with holes delivering strong results,
testing continuity and expansion of the bonanza-grade Breccia 41
structure, and the broader high-grade Aurora Zone. In addition, an
exploration hole, FSDH060, drilled approximately 2km northeast of
Breccia 41, discovered a new porphyry copper-gold centre, now named
the Bonita Zone.
Highlights include:
- FSDH055C, which is the best hole ever drilled at Filo del Sol
from a grade-thickness perspective, returned 1,338m at 1.33% copper equivalent ("CuEq") from
150m, including 126m at 5.02% CuEq from 728m in Breccia 41, within which 24m intersected at 13.30% CuEq from 728m. This interval is 40m north of the high-grade section in
FSDH041;
- FDSDH057 successfully extended the bonanza-grade mineralization
of Breccia 41 by 175m, with the final
11.1m returning 17.6% CuEq from
776m, ending the hole in the highest
grade copper values ever discovered at Filo del Sol;
- FSDH058, collared 460m south of
FSDH041 and drilled into the Aurora Zone, returned 1,252m at 0.91% CuEq from a depth of 100m to the end of the hole, including
310m at 1.40% CuEq and 6m at 398.3 g/t Ag in the silver zone,
demonstrating the continuity of strong mineralization within this
high-grade feature of the Filo del Sol deposit; and
- FSDH060, collared 2km north of FSDH041, discovered the Bonita
Zone, which is currently interpreted as a new porphyry centre along
the overall Filo trend, confirming that the Filo del Sol Project
hosts a multikilometer, northeast-trending alignment of overlapping
porphyry-centered hydrothermal systems.
Select assay results from these holes are summarized in the
table below:
Hole-ID
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
Length
(m)
|
Cu
(%)
|
Au
(g/t)
|
Ag
(g/t)
|
CuEq
(%)
|
FSDH055C
|
150.0
|
1,487.5
|
1,337.5
|
0.66
|
0.54
|
31.5
|
1.33
|
incl.
|
418.0
|
504.0
|
86.0
|
0.07
|
0.43
|
109.2
|
|
and incl.
|
540.0
|
1,076.0
|
536.0
|
1.25
|
0.95
|
56.1
|
2.44
|
incl.
|
728.0
|
854.0
|
126.0
|
2.12
|
1.69
|
188.7
|
5.02
|
incl.
|
728.0
|
752.0
|
24.0
|
5.08
|
4.88
|
530.2
|
13.30
|
incl.
|
742.0
|
750.6
|
8.6
|
7.08
|
8.16
|
820.4
|
20.25
|
FSDH057
|
136.0
|
787.1
|
651.1
|
0.63
|
0.37
|
25.6
|
1.12
|
incl.
|
404.0
|
432.0
|
28.0
|
0.01
|
0.19
|
109.9
|
|
incl.
|
498.0
|
787.1
|
289.1
|
1.18
|
0.68
|
36.0
|
2.00
|
and incl.
|
776.0
|
787.1
|
11.1
|
9.11
|
8.87
|
230.4
|
17.60
|
FSDH058
|
100.0
|
1,351.5
|
1,251.5
|
0.56
|
0.41
|
6.6
|
0.91
|
incl.
|
500.0
|
1,004.0
|
504.0
|
0.77
|
0.54
|
7.4
|
1.23
|
and incl.
|
600.0
|
910.0
|
310.0
|
0.87
|
0.62
|
8.2
|
1.40
|
and incl.
|
232.0
|
238.0
|
6.0
|
0.24
|
0.24
|
398.3
|
|
FSDH060
|
332.0
|
1,070.0
|
738.0
|
0.39
|
0.14
|
1.9
|
0.51
|
incl.
|
620.0
|
1,070.0
|
450.0
|
0.47
|
0.14
|
1.8
|
0.59
|
incl.
|
620.0
|
942.0
|
322.0
|
0.50
|
0.16
|
1.8
|
0.63
|
The Company's 2021/2022 drill and field program is continuing
through the South American winter season for the first time in the
project's history. The Company's six diamond rigs have been
consolidated in the area around Breccia 41, and the broader Aurora
Zone, to de-risk its first its first winter operations in terms of
required road clearing, transportation and logistics support. As of
the date of this News Release, additional holes have been completed
with assays pending, which include:
- FSDH061, located 228m northeast
of FSDH057, completed to a depth of 1,093m;
- FSDH063, located 150m west of
FSDH025, to investigate the southwestern extension of the Aurora
Zone, completed to a depth of 1,141m;
and
- FSDH066, located 1.3km northeast of FSDH060, to investigate the
area under the Maranceles veins, a series of quartz-enargite veins
which outcrop in this area, completed to a depth of 458m.
Assay results for these holes will be released as they are
received, analyzed and confirmed by the Company.
The first winter campaign has been challenging, as the 2022
winter season at the Filo del Sol Project has been characterized by
significant snowfall and extreme winds, which have hampered
drilling activities. The Company is prioritizing personnel safety
and maintaining road access while reducing site activities during
the winter storms. Holes underway, which target the Aurora Zone and
Breccia 41, will seek to improve the Company's understanding of the
geometry, extent and geological context of these high-grade
sections within the Filo del Sol deposit.
The Company has also continued preliminary metallurgical
testwork on the sulphide mineralization, as well as environmental
and social baseline programs in support of future project
permitting.
Looking ahead to the South American spring, the Company has
plans to ramp up its rig count as the weather moderates, in order
to expedite drilling and definition of the deposit. While drilling
will continue to focus on infilling and testing extension of the
Aurora Zone and Breccia 41, the Company also plans to drill test
the newly discovered Bonita Zone. Such testing may prove
transformational for the project, as it may increase the ultimate
size of the deposit and provide opportunities to discover
additional high-grade Aurora Zone or bonanza-grade Breccia 41
styled zones.
BHP exercises anti-dilutive top-up right to maintain pro
rata shareholding
Jamie Beck remarked,
"Recently, BHP elected to exercise its right to maintain its pro
rata interest in Filo Mining, and we are pleased to receive BHP's
ongoing vote of confidence in our team and the Filo del Sol
Project. There is no shortage of drill targets at Filo del Sol, and
with a strong treasury balance and continued support from our key
shareholders, we are planning to expand our ambitious exploration
program beginning September 2022."
On July 29, 2022, subsequent to Q2
2022, the Company closed a non-brokered private placement to BHP
Western Mining Resources International Pty Ltd, a wholly owned
subsidiary of BHP Group Limited (collectively, "BHP"), whereby the
Company issued 44,047 common shares to BHP for gross proceeds of
$675,681 (the "Anti-dilution
Top-Up").
The Anti-dilution Top-Up was undertaken pursuant to the terms of
the March 11, 2022 private placement
(the "Private Placement"), whereby BHP was granted certain
anti-dilutive rights, allowing BHP to top-up and maintain its pro
rata ownership interest in the Company from time to time (see news
releases dated February 28, 2022 and
March 11, 2022).
FINANCIAL RESULTS
(In thousands of
Canadian dollars, except per share amounts)
|
|
|
|
|
Three months
ended
|
Six months
ended
|
|
|
June
30,
|
June
30,
|
|
|
2022
|
2021
|
2022
|
2021
|
Exploration and project
investigation
|
|
22,136
|
9,358
|
37,004
|
21,877
|
General and
administration ("G&A")
|
|
1,531
|
638
|
3,675
|
1,333
|
Net loss
|
|
13,513
|
4,793
|
27,913
|
15,225
|
Basic and diluted loss
per share
|
|
0.11
|
0.04
|
0.23
|
0.14
|
|
The financial
information in this table were selected from the Company's
condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three
and six months ended June 30, 2022 (the "Financial Statements"),
which are available on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com and the Company's website
www.filo-mining.com.
|
SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(In thousands of
Canadian dollars)
|
|
|
June
30,
|
December
31,
|
|
|
2022
|
|
2021
|
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
|
102,631
|
|
19,417
|
Working
capital
|
|
89,831
|
|
13,052
|
Mineral
properties
|
|
8,931
|
|
8,063
|
Total assets
|
|
114,333
|
|
30,660
|
|
The financial
information in this table were selected from the Financial
Statements, which are available on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com and the Company's website
www.filo-mining.com.
|
The Company incurred a net loss of $13.5
million during the three months ended June 30, 2022, comprised primarily of
$22.1 million in exploration and
project investigation costs and $1.5
million in G&A costs, which were partially offset by a
gain of approximately $10.6 million
resulting from the use of marketable securities for the purposes of
facilitating intragroup funding transfers (a "Funding Gain"). For
the 2021 comparative period, the Company reported a net loss of
$4.8 million, consisting mainly of
$9.4 million in exploration and
project investigation costs and $0.6
million in G&A costs, which were partially offset by a
Funding Gain of $5.4 million.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As at June 30, 2022, the Company
had cash and cash equivalents of $102.6
million and net working capital of $89.4 million, compared to cash of $19.4 million and net working capital of
$13.1 million as at December 31, 2021. The increase in the Company's
cash and cash equivalents and net working capital is due to
$99.7 million in net proceeds
generated by the Private Placement and $2.5
million in gross proceeds received by the Company in
relation to the exercise of stock options during the six months
ended June 30, 2022. These cash
inflows have been partially offset by funds used in operations,
including mineral property payments and amounts used in the
acquisition of equipment and facilities for the Filo del Sol
project, and for general corporate purposes.
The Company will continue to deploy the majority of its treasury
to fund ongoing exploration and advancement of the Filo del Sol
project, and for working capital and general corporate
purposes.
About Filo Mining
Filo Mining is a Canadian exploration and development company
focused on advancing its 100% owned Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver
deposit located in Chile's Region
III and adjacent San Juan Province, Argentina. The Company's shares are listed on
the TSX and Nasdaq First North Growth Market under the trading
symbol "FIL", and on the OTCQX under the symbol "FLMMF". Filo
Mining is a member of the Lundin Group of Companies.
Technical Information
Copper Equivalent is calculated based on US$ 3.00/lb Cu, US$
1,500/oz Au and US$ 18/oz Ag,
with 80% metallurgical recoveries assumed for all metals. The
formula is: CuEq % = Cu % + (0.7292 * Au g/t) + (0.0088 * Ag
g/t).
Details on assay procedures and the drill intersections provided
above can be found in the Company's news releases dated
April 19, 2022, May 12, 2022, May 23,
2022 and June 9, 2022.
Qualified Persons
The scientific and technical disclosure for the Filo del Sol
Project included in this news release have been reviewed and
approved by Bob Carmichael, P.Eng.
and Jamie Beck, P. Eng. Mr.
Carmichael is Filo Mining's Vice President of Exploration and a
Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of
Disclosure of Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Beck is Filo
Mining's President and CEO and is also a Qualified Person under NI
43-101.
Additional information
The Company's condensed interim consolidated financial
statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and related management's discussion
and analysis are available on the Company's website at
www.filo-mining.com or under its profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
The Company's certified adviser on the Nasdaq First North Growth
Market is Aktieinvest FK AB, +46 8 506 51703,
rutger.ahlerup@aktieinvest.se.
The information contained in this news release was accurate at
the time of dissemination, but may be superseded by subsequent news
release(s). The Company is under no obligation nor does it
intend to update or revise the forward-looking information, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This information was submitted by Filo Mining Corp. for
publication, through the agency of the contact person set out
below, on August 11, 2022 at
9:00 pm EDT.
On behalf of the board of directors of Filo Mining,
Jamie Beck, President and CEO
Filo Mining Corp.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made and information contained herein in this
press release constitutes "forward-looking information" and
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable
securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking
information") concerning the business, operations, financial
performance and condition of Filo Mining. The forward-looking
information contained in this press release is based on information
available to the Company as of the date of this press release.
Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the
Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to
update this forward-looking information. Generally, any statements
that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions,
expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions
or future events or performance, (often, but not always, identified
by words or phrases such as "plans", "expects" or "does not
expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "projects" , "estimates", "budgets",
"scheduled", "forecasts", "assumes", "intends", "strategy",
"goals", "objectives", "potential", "possible", "anticipates" or
"does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words
and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, conditions
or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or
"will be taken", "will occur" or "will be achieved" or the negative
connotations thereof and similar expressions) are not statements of
historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.
All statements other than statements of historical fact may be
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is
necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance
or achievements of the Company to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information,
including but not limited to: risks and uncertainties relating to,
among other things, the inherent uncertainties regarding Mineral
Reserve and Resource estimates, cost estimates, changes in
commodity prices, currency fluctuation, financings, unanticipated
resource grades, infrastructure, results of exploration activities,
cost overruns, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness
of government approvals, taxation, political risk and related
economic risk and unanticipated environmental impact on operations
as well as other risks, and uncertainties and other factors,
including, without limitation, those referred to in the "Risks and
Uncertainties" section of the Company's most recent MD&A and/or
Annual Information Form, under the heading "Risks Factors", and
elsewhere, which may cause the actual results, level of activity,
performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
information.
The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking information included in this press release are
reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations
will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information
should not be unduly relied upon. Information contained in this
press release is as of the date of this press release. In
particular, this press release contains forward-looking information
pertaining to the assumptions used in the PFS for the Filo del Sol
project, the assumptions used in the Mineral Reserves and Resources
estimates for the Filo del Sol project, including, but not limited
to, geological interpretation, grades, metal price assumptions,
metallurgical and mining recovery rates, geotechnical and
hydrogeological conditions, as applicable; ability to develop
infrastructure; assumptions made in the interpretation of drill
results, geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits;
expectations regarding access and demand for equipment, skilled
labour and services needed for exploration and development of
mineral properties; and that activities will not be adversely
disrupted or impeded by exploration, development, operating,
regulatory, political, community, economic and/or environmental
risks. In addition, this press release may contain forward-looking
statements or information pertaining to: the potential exploration
results or anticipated outcomes of current or future drilling at
Filo del Sol, including the exploration results of the recent
Bonita Zone discovery and the Company's current interpretation of
Filo del Sol as part of a multikilometer, northeast-trending
alignment of overlapping porphyry-centered hydrothermal systems;
exploration and development plans and expenditures, including but
not limited to its plans to add additional rigs, the sequencing or
prioritization of drill targets, and the continuation of winter or
year-round operations; the ability of the Company's COVID-19
operating protocol to continue to meet government mandated health
and safety guidelines enabling it to conduct its field programs as
planned; the ultimate size and scope of its field programs and the
Company's ability to achieve the objectives thereof; the size and
scope of its field programs and the Company's ability to achieve
the objectives thereof; the impact of the Company's winterization
efforts at Filo del Sol, and whether such efforts have adequately
anticipated the challenges of winter operation, including but not
limited to significant weather events and potential supply chain
disruptions; the anticipated use of proceeds from the Private
Placement or Anti-dilution Top-Up and/or its current treasury
balance; the timing or results of an upgrade to the Mineral
Resources estimate at Filo del Sol, including the inputs used
therein; opportunities to improve project economics; the success of
future exploration activities; potential for resource expansion;
potential for the discovery of new mineral deposits; ability to
build shareholder value; expectations with regard to adding to its
Mineral Reserves or Resources through exploration; expectations
with respect to the conversion of inferred resources to an
indicated resources classification; ability to execute planned work
programs; estimation of commodity prices, Mineral Reserves and
Resources, estimations of costs, and permitting time lines; ability
to obtain surface rights and property interests; currency exchange
rate fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; government
regulation of mining activities; environmental risks; unanticipated
reclamation expenses; title disputes or claims; limitations on
insurance coverage; and other risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions that
the Company believes are reasonable, including that the current
price of and demand for commodities will be sustained or will
improve, the supply of commodities will remain stable, that the
general business and economic conditions will not change in a
material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and
when needed on reasonable terms and that the Company will not
experience any material labour dispute, accident, or failure of
plant or equipment. These factors are not, and should not be
construed as being, exhaustive. Although the Company has
attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in
forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause
results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or
intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate, as the Company's actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements, as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk and
Uncertainties" section of the Company's most recent management's
discussion and analysis and elsewhere and in the "Risk Factors"
section in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form, which
are available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com. All the forward-looking information contained in
this document is qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.
Statements relating to "Mineral Resources" are deemed to be
forward looking information, as they involve the implied
assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the
Mineral Resources described can be profitably produced in the
future.
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SOURCE Filo Mining Corp.